Elijah was standing beside her.
“Hello, Alice.”
She jerked to her feet, sending her bike crashing onto its side. Oh god, she was an idiot. How could she be so clumsy?
“That was a hard exam, wasn’t it?” He spoke slowly, distinctly. That was one more thing she liked about Elijah; unlike the other kids, his voice was always clear, never muddled. And he always let her see his lips. He knows my secret, she thought. Yet he still wants to be my friend.
“So did you finish all the questions?” he asked.
She bent down to pick up her bike. “I knew the answers. I just needed more time.” As she straightened, she saw that his gaze had dropped to her blouse. To the gap left by the missing button. Flushing, she crossed her arms.
“I’ve got a safety pin,” he said.
“What?”
He reached in his pocket and pulled out a pin. “I’m always losing buttons myself. It’s kind of embarrassing. Here, let me fasten it for you.”
She held her breath as he reached for her blouse. She could barely suppress her trembling as he slipped his finger beneath the fabric to close the pin. Does he feel my heart pounding? she wondered. Does he know I’m dizzy from his touch?
When he stepped back, her breath flew out. She looked down and saw that the gap was now modestly pinned shut.
“Better?” he asked.
“Oh. Yes!” She paused to compose herself. Said, with queenly dignity: “Thank you, Elijah. That’s very thoughtful of you.”
A moment passed. Crows cawed, and the autumn leaves were like bright flames engulfing the branches above.
“You think you could help me with something, Alice?” he asked.
“With what?”
“I’ve got this project I’m doing for biology. I need a partner to help me with it, and I don’t know who else to ask.”
“What kind of project is it?”
“I’ll show you. We’ve got to go up by my house.”
His house. She’d never been to a boy’s house.
She nodded. “Let me drop my books off at home.”
He pulled his bike from the rack. It was almost as battered as hers, the fenders going rusty, the vinyl peeling off the seat. That old bike made her like him even more. We’re a real pair, she thought. Tony Curtis and me.
They rode to her house first. She didn’t invite him in; she was too embarrassed to let him see the shabby furniture, the paint peeling off the walls. She just ran inside, dumped her book bag on the kitchen table, and ran out.
Unfortunately, her brother’s dog, Buddy, did as well. Just as she came out the front door, he scampered out in a blur of black and white.
“Buddy!” she yelled. “You come back here!”
“He doesn’t listen very well, does he?” said Elijah.
“Because he’s a stupid dog.
The mutt glanced back, tail wagging, then trotted off down the road.
“Oh, never mind,” she said. “He’ll come home when he’s ready.” She climbed onto her bike. “So where do you live?”
“Up on Skyline Road. You ever been up there?”
“No.”
“It’s kind of a long ride up the hill. Think you can make it?”
She nodded.
They pedaled away from her house. She hoped that he’d turn onto Main Street, past the malt shop where the kids always hung out after school playing the jukebox and sipping their sodas. They’ll see us go riding by together, she thought, and wouldn’t that set the girls’ tongues wagging? There goes Alice and Elijah-with-the-blue- eyes.
But he didn’t lead her down Main Street. Instead, he turned up Locust Lane, where there were hardly any houses, just the backside of a few businesses and the employee parking lot for the Neptune ’s Bounty Cannery. Oh, well. She was riding with him, wasn’t she? Close enough behind him to watch his thighs pumping, his rear end perched on the seat.
He glanced back at her, and his black hair danced in the wind. “You doing okay, Alice?”
“I’m fine.” Though the truth was, she was getting out of breath because they had left the village and were starting to climb up the mountain. Elijah must ride his bike up Skyline every day, so he was used to it; he seemed hardly winded, his legs moving like powerful pistons. But she was panting, pushing herself onward. A flash of fur caught her eye. She glanced sideways and saw that Buddy had followed them. He looked tired too, his tongue hanging way out as he ran to keep up.
“Go home!”
“What did you say?” Elijah glanced back.
“It’s that stupid dog again,” she panted. “He won’t stop following us. He’s gonna-gonna get lost.”
She glared at Buddy, but he just kept trotting along beside her in his cheerful dumb dog way. Well, go ahead, she thought. Tucker yourself out. I don’t care.
They kept moving up the mountain, the road winding in gentle switchbacks. Through the trees she caught occasional glimpses of Fox Harbor far below, the water like battered copper in the afternoon sunlight. Then the trees became too thick, and she could see only the forest, clothed in brilliant reds and oranges. The leaf-strewn road curved ahead of them.
When at last Elijah pedaled to a stop, Alice ’s legs were so tired she could barely stand without trembling. Buddy was nowhere in sight; she only hoped he could find his own way home, because she sure wasn’t going to go looking for him. Not now, not with Elijah standing here, smiling at her, his eyes glittering. He leaned his bike up against a tree and hoisted his book bag over his shoulder.
“So where’s your house?” she asked.
“It’s that driveway there.” He pointed down the road, to a mailbox rusting on a post.
“Aren’t we going to your house?”
“Naw, my cousin’s home sick today. She was throwing up all night, so let’s not go in the house. Anyway, my project’s out here, in the woods. Leave your bike. We’re gonna have to walk.”
She propped her bike up next to his and followed him, her legs still wobbly from the ride up the mountain. They tramped into woods. The trees were dense here, the ground thickly carpeted by leaves. Gamely she followed him, waving at mosquitoes. “So your cousin lives with you?” she asked.
“Yeah, she came to stay with us last year. I guess it’s permanent now. Got nowhere else to go.”
“Your parents don’t mind?”
“It’s just my dad. My mom’s dead.”
“Oh.” She didn’t know what to say about that. Finally murmured a simple “I’m sorry,” but he didn’t seem to hear her.
The undergrowth became thicker, and brambles scratched her bare legs. She had trouble keeping up with him. He was pulling ahead of her, leaving her with her skirt snagged on blackberry canes.
“Elijah!”
He didn’t answer. He just kept moving ahead like a bold explorer, his book bag slung over his shoulder.
“Wait!”
“Do you want to see this or don’t you?”
“Yes, but-”
